Incredible Curried Lentils (vegan!)

If you're obsessed with Indian food like I am, you'll love this! I found it on epicurious and it was easy and fantastic! I added about 5 small potatoes, chopped, to the soup with the carrots but in the future I'll add them after the lentils. They turned out a little soft for my taste and the lentils need plenty of time to soften. Maybe 10 minutes into the simmering time? I also ended up adding about twice as much curry powder because I just had a generic brand that wasn't too spicy, and a couple dashes of cumin. It tasted pretty authentic! Especially with some naan bread and yogurt sauce we picked up at our local Indian restaurant. Yum!!

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, chopped, divided
• 2 tablespoons (or more) curry powder
• 1 cup French green lentils
• 4 1/4 cups (or more) water, divided
• 1 15- to 16-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained, rinsed
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced 1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges

• Ingredient info: French green lentils are small, dark green, and speckled with black; they can be found at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores
  
  

  Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion and carrot; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until onion is translucent, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Add half of chopped garlic; stir until vegetables are soft but not brown, about 4 minutes longer. Add 2 tablespoons curry powder; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add lentils and 4 cups water. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Increase heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.

  Meanwhile, puree chickpeas, lemon juice, 1/4 cup water, remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and remaining garlic in processor.

  Add chickpea puree to lentil soup. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and additional curry powder, if desired. Add water by 1/4 cupfuls to thin to desired consistency.

  Divide soup among bowls. Sprinkle with thinly sliced green onions and serve with lemon wedges.

  
  Even better the second day!
  
  

VEGAN Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Now that I've shared a delectable chocolate chip recipe that's terrible for you, here's an equally delicious one that's actually not bad for you! And if you don't believe me on the deliciousness, I DARE you to compare these to your usual faves. Moist, chewy, buttery-tasting...mmmmm! Wonderful. I made 2 double batches this week and they're both gone. Also made ice cream sandwiches with them....Heaven! Try coconut milk ice cream for an AMAZING vegan alternative :)

P.S. I haven't tried unrefined sugar yet (also called turbinado or other names) but I hear great things about it. The crystals are bigger and they're light brown so they look different but bake up wonderfully, so I've heard. It actually still has some nutrients from the sugar cane plant instead of being completely stripped of anything good for you!

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (see note below for wheat-free version)
1 tsp baking powder
1⁄2 tsp baking soda
1⁄4 cup unrefined sugar
1⁄4 tsp sea salt
1⁄3 cup pure maple syrup
1⁄4 tsp blackstrap molasses
1 - 1 1⁄2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1⁄4 cup organic canola oil (a little generous 1/4 cup)
1⁄3 cup non-dairy chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). In a bowl, sift in the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the sugar and salt, and stir until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup with the molasses and vanilla, then stir in the oil until well combined. Add the wet mixture to the dry, along with the chocolate chips, and stir through until just well combined (do not overmix). Place large spoonfuls of the batter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and flatten a little. Bake for 11 minutes, until just golden (if you bake for much longer, they will dry out). Let cool on the sheet for no more than 1 minute (again, to prevent drying), then transfer to a cooling rack. Makes 8-10 large cookies.

Note: Unbleached all-purpose flour produces a cookie with a very classic taste and texture, but you can use whole-wheat pastry flour and still have delicious cookies! For a wheat-free version, use barley or spelt flour. With spelt flour, you may need to add an extra 2-4 TB of flour, if it is a refined spelt flour. Also, if using all-purpose flour, if the batter is heavy and dense when mixing in the wet ingredients, add another 1-2 tsp each of maple syrup and canol oil and work through.

Courtesy Vive Le Vegan

Grilled Veggie Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

So, out of all the (part-time) vegetarians in the world, I probably like vegetables the least of them all. If it's not broccoli or zucchini, I probably won't eat it. Ok, in all honesty I'm better than I used to be but they're still not my favorite. Not to mention the fact that most vegetarian recipes never seem hearty enough for me. Lo and behold, this recipe. It was SO satisfying, so full of flavor, I just could NOT get enough. That's right, I went back for seconds. And it's just veggies!! And an amazing dressing. If you're not a huge fan of blue cheese (unlike me who eats it by the handful) don't shy away from this dressing. It's by no means overpowering, just a flavorful and tangy vinaigrette. I'm so amazed at how good this was!! Looking forward to leftovers for lunch :)

I didn't have fennel and also left out beets due to preference. Used fresh spinach instead of mixed greens and broiled veggies instead of grilling cause it was 110 degrees outside :)
**Also, I grilled the potatoes separately and my kids ate those with ketchup cause they're not so into veggies. Weird, right??

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
9 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for brushing
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (such as Maytag; about 2 ounces)
2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise
2 bell peppers (preferably in assorted colors), seeded, quartered lengthwise
1 pound red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed, cut into 1/3-inch-thick slices
1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cut through core into 8 wedges
8 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed
10 baby beets (about 11/2 inches in diameter), trimmed, scrubbed, halved crosswise
1 large red onion, cut into 1/3-inch-thick slices
1 5-ounce package mixed baby greens

Whisk vinegar, Dijon mustard, and 5 tablespoons oil in small bowl. Stir in cheese. Season dressing with salt and generous amount of pepper.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat); brush grill with oil. Place all vegetables except beets, onion, and baby greens in large bowl; drizzle with remaining 4 tablespoons oil and toss to coat. Transfer to large rimmed baking sheet. Place beets in same bowl; toss to coat with any remaining oil in bowl and transfer to baking sheet. Sprinkle vegetables with salt and pepper. Brush onion slices with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill vegetables until slightly charred and tender, about 12 minutes for beets, potatoes, and fennel, turning occasionally, and about 4 minutes per side for zucchini, peppers, onion slices, and mushrooms.

Mound greens in center of 4 plates. Arrange onions and vegetables atop greens. Drizzle dressing over and serve.

Best smoothie EVER!

I found a fantastic vegan cookbook called Eat, Drink and Be Vegan. I've tried several recipes from it so far and every one is fantastic. In fact the two desserts I've tried are better than most in my omnivorous arsenal, plus I feel all righteous for eating desserts without tons of sugar and animal products :) This smoothie's also in there and I'm telling you, if you can get past the green color (hence no picture...not very pretty), you'll be making this every day for the rest of your life.

Freshly squeezed OJ (enough for easy blending, 1/2 - 1 cup?)
1 banana
1 ripe mango
1 ripe avocado
about 1-2 cups chopped green (kale, chard, spinach, etc)
as much ice as desired

Blend it all up and check off your serving of weird leafy greens for the day!

P.S. I had to bribe Liam with a quarter to try it but then he loved it!

Double Chocolate Cupcake Manna

Let me just preface this recipe with the fact that I really do not enjoy cupcakes...actually I don't really love cake itself. It's usually dry with nasty icing (I also really don't like icing) and I much prefer brownies or ice cream. I'm a fudgy, creamy kind of girl, basically. So, having said that, I must say that I ate half of these cupcakes. They were AWESOME. And they just so happen to be vegan. Enjoy!

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2/3 c. canola oil
2 tsp. white vinegar
2 cups cold water

Preheat oven to 350. Place cupcake liners in pan (or grease pan well). In large bowl, sift dry ingredients together. In medium bowl, mix vanilla, oil, vinegar and water.
Slowly whisk wet ingredients into dry, do not overmix.
Pour batter into cupcake pan and bake for about 24 minutes.
Cool for about 10 minutes.
Then frost with THIS:

1/4 cup margarine
1/4 c. shortening
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
3 tbsp. soy milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cream margarine and shortening well. Add cocoa powder and mix well. Add sugar in several batches and beat well, adding soy milk as needed. After all ingredients are added, mix in vanilla and beat until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes with mixer).

The cupcakes turn out with a slightly crusty top that is so nice to bite into and the icing is just the perfect sweetness, according to my book. They're sure to be a hit!

Rustic Pizza

Ok, so this picture may not look all that great, I'm not a food photographer :) But this was fantastic.
When I made this pizza, it took no time at all, but I was using leftover veggies and pre-mixed and risen bread dough. So, plan accordingly.

Crust:
Make my super-favorite of all time bread recipe:
3 Cups lukewarm water (too cold is better than too hot)
1.5 Tbs. salt
1.5 Tbs. yeast
5.5 cups unbleached white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
(I plan on trying this recipe with a larger whole wheat to white ratio but I haven't yet so I can't promise it'll work)

Mix all together, don't knead, just place in warm spot with a lid on it and let rise 2 hours. Then refrigerate until ready to use.
At baking time, preheat oven to 500 degrees with baking stone or cookie sheet in oven. Pull off about a pound of dough and roll out on flour-dusted countertop until about 1/8-1/4 inch thick.
Sprinkle topping on and slide onto sheet in oven, bake for about 8-10 mintues but watch closely as toppings can burn easily at this heat.

Toppings:
I LOVE caramelized onions. I could eat them every day. To make them, slice an onion thinly (red onions work best but any will do) and throw in a frying pan with olive oil. Sautee for quite a while (10-15 mintues?) until onions are translucent, flimsy and start to smell sweet. They taste sweet too :) After that, I often throw in some sliced zucchini or other veggies until soft and brown. Then I spread all these over the dough, added sun-dried tomatoes (from a jar) and sprinkled just a little bit of mozzarella on top (do NOT go overboard with the cheese, it masks the delicate gourmet flavors...this isn't Chucke Cheese people!!)

Voila! Delicious and an easy way to get rid of leftover veggies. I ate this thing cold all week :)

Baked String Beans

Ok, so I used to HATE string beans. We get a bag of them pretty often through the produce co-op and I never did anything with them. Then one day I came across this recipe and now I get so excited when I see them that I nearly wet myself (ok, not really).
Here it is!

Rinse and trim beans. Pour a Tbs. or so of olive oil in a rimmed baking sheet, add beans and roll around to coat with oil. Sprinkle beans liberally with salt and pepper and roll again to coat. Bake at 400 for about 10 minutes or so, checking and stirring often to avoid burning. When they are crispy and browned in spots, they're done.

Now find a corner and eat them all in one sitting. I do. They taste like healthy french fries, I kid you not. SO good!!

Rajma Masala (Spiced Kidney Beans)

I got a great book from the library called "Quick Vegetarian Curries" and what I've tried so far has been really good! And they're not kidding when they say quick, especially if you use canned beans or other ingredients. Coriander, turmeric and other Indian spices may not be a staple for every household but I highly recommend keeping them around. You can make some amazingly authentic tasting curries with them that are healthy, fast and extremely satisfying.

1 onion, chopped
1 inch cube root ginger, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
4 teaspoons oil
2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1 tbs. tomato puree (i just used ketchup)
1 lb. canned red kidney beans, drained and rinsed ( I used half kidney and half black beans)
1 tsp. salt
1 cup warm water
3-4 green chilies (I used canned whole chilies)
1/2 tsp. Garam Masala (I used curry powder cause i didn't have any)
2 Tbs. chopped cilantro leaves

Puree onion, ginger and garlic in food processor. In a saucepan heat oil over medium and when hot, add pureed ingredients. Cook, stirring, for 4-5 minutes.
Reduce heat to low, addd cumin, coriander and cook for another 2 minutes. Add turmeric, chili powder and tomato paste and cook for another minute or two.
Add beans and salt, increase heat to medium and cook for one more minute.
Add water and chilies, simmer for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Sprinkle with garam masala and stir in cilantro. Remove from heat and serve with rice, if desired.

Black Bean and Zucchini Chilaquiles

This is a vegetarian recipe I got off my favorite recipe website (epicurious) that was just phenomenal! And super fast to make. I highly recommend :)

1 1/2 tablespoons light or extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 medium green bell pepper, diced (I threw two peppers in cause I had them)
One 28-ounce can crushed or puréed tomatoes
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
One 16- to 20-ounce can black beans or 2 1/2 cups cooked black beans (from about 1 cup dried)
1 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced (I used a yellow zucchini)
1 small fresh hot chile pepper, seeded and minced, or one 4-ounce can chopped mild green chilies (I ommitted this cause my kids freak out over anythiung spicy)
12 6-inch corn tortillas, torn or cut into several pieces
8 ounces grated Cheddar cheese or Cheddar-style nondairy cheese (I used minimal cheese, a small handful for each sprinkling and it was still great!)

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Lightly oil a 9- by 13-inch baking pan or 2-quart round casserole.

2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Sauté the onion until translucent. Add the bell pepper and continue to sauté until it has softened and the onions are golden. Stir in the tomatoes, seasonings, beans, zucchini, and chile pepper. Bring to a simmer, then simmer gently for 5 minutes.

3. Layer as follows in the prepared pan. Half the tortillas, half the tomato black bean mixture, and half the cheese. Repeat. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes, then cut into squares or wedges to serve.

Awesome Vegetarian Chili

I am very picky about my chili, just so you know. It has to be chunky, include a wide variety of ingredients, have a little kick and it has to taste just right. My sister-in-law Hillary brought this to the family dinner the other night and it was fantastic!

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon salt
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chile peppers, drained
2 (12 ounce) packages vegetarian burger crumbles
3 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and season with bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until onion is tender, then mix in the celery, green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, garlic, and green chile peppers. When vegetables are heated through, mix in the vegetarian burger crumbles.

Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 5 minutes.Mix the tomatoes into the pot. Season chili with chili powder and pepper. Stir in the kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and black beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in the corn, and continue cooking 5 minutes before serving.